Team Building
by greenegiant
Summary: Glee just got a little more camp. Pezberry.
1. Chapter 1

**So here's what you missed on Glee**

**After the Troubletones lost at sectionals, Santana, Mercedes, Brittany and Sugar rejoined New Directions.**

**Quinn and Rachel became friends, which angered Finn, causing him to break up with Rachel, again.**

**Santana found out Brittany cheated on her after winning the school election because "that's what presidents do."**

**So even though the gang's all back together, no one's really getting along.**

**And that's what you missed on GLEE!**

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><p>"Can someone please tell me why we have to stay late on the last day of school before winter break? I just want to go home and watch Rudolf."<p>

"No idea." Blaine replied to Mercedes as he opened the door for Kurt, Finn and Mercedes to shuffle into the empty choir room.

Finn had taken to hanging out with his stepbrother after he and Rachel broke up. For the past week, Finn had prevented Kurt from talking to Rachel, and would mutter darkly whenever he saw her.

"Looks like we're the only ones here, are you sure this is where we're supposed to meet?" Kurt opened the door again and peered out into the empty hallway.

"That's what Schue told me in the hall this morning." Finn said as he leaned out into the hallway behind Kurt. "Maybe it was a trick…"

"Why would anyone try to trick you? There's no fun in fooling a fool. Now get a move on fugly green giant, your gut and your fairy step brother are blocking the door." Santana pushed through while the boys followed behind her.

"Hey San, Do you have any idea what this meeting's about?"

"Haven't got a clue, Mercedes. But I did see a bunch of the other glee clubbers leaving the library so they should be here soon. Maybe Schue's decided to quit his job and we'll be able to reform the Troubletones again." Santana sent a smile to Mercedes and walked over to the chairs, taking a seat in the back row.

"Fat chance, Santana." Finn glared at her as he slouched over to the chairs on the other side of the room. Kurt followed with Blaine as Mercedes took a seat beside Santana.

"A girl can dream."

Santana sat back and watched the other people in the room. Kurt and Blaine were arguing about the proper length of pants and how many turtlenecks a guy really needs, Finn was staring off into space and Mercedes was complaining to her about having two boys like her.

Suddenly, the door opened and they all looked up at once. Tina, Mike and Sam walked in and took seats beside Mercedes with Sam tripping over chairs in his rush to grab the spot beside Mercedes.

After them, the rest of the club trickled into the room. Artie wheeled in with Brittany and Rory behind him. Santana had to look away. She couldn't look at Brittany without wanting to break something.

Artie rolled over beside Blaine while Brittany and Rory sat in the back behind Finn and Kurt. At least Santana couldn't see Brittany anymore.

Next came Sugar and Puck. Santana really hoped they weren't an item. She was actually starting to like Sugar. She didn't want to see her get hurt by Puck and his stupid, off-center hair creature. However, they spilt off with Puck sitting in the front beside Artie and Sugar squeezing in between Tina and Brittany. This left two empty spaces in front of Santana.

Sure enough, Quinn and Rachel walked in and took the last two seats. Quinn and Rachel both smiled at Santana and Mercedes before they sat down.

Santana absentmindedly stared at the back of Rachel's head in front of her.

Rachel had looked happy. Santana wondered if it was because of Quinn. They certainly looked close during _We Are Young. _Santana frowned as her mind flashed back to after sectionals.

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><p><em>Shortly after the meeting in the bathroom with Quinn, Brittany pulled Santana aside.<em>

_"San," Brittany whispered as she held Santana's hands. "I did something bad."_

_"What did you do Brit? Did you put another bird in your locker?" Santana laughed. __She was feeling as if she were on top of the world. Even though they had just lost sectionals and the Troubletones were no more, she had just given an amazing performance, she got to dance with the girl she loves in front of tons of people, and now they were going to regionals with the promise of a solo. In short, she felt as if nothing could hurt her. Until Brittany opened her mouth again._

_"No San. I- I slept with that rugby player guy. He told me that all presidents cheat on their partners. I just wanted to be a good president. I'm so sorry, S. I had to tell you. I want what Q just talked about. For this to be the best times of our lives, for us all to be together."_

_Santana felt like the Earth had stopped moving, then started spinning really fast. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears. How could the girl she loved so much, the girl she came out for, hurt her so much? How could her Brittany, no, not her Brittany._

_"Yeah, well, we're not together, Brittany. Not anymore." Santana turned and wiped the tears away. She wouldn't let the other girl see how much she had hurt her. Then she did what she did best, she ran._

_Santana could hardly see where she was going. Her eyes were out of focus and all she could hear was the blood rushing in her ears._

_She had just started to compose herself when she found Sugar and Mercedes out front of the auditorium._

_"Ready to go back to them?" Santana didn't know who asked, and she didn't really care. She just shrugged._

_"I know what you mean. Come on, Let's go." That was Mercedes. Mercedes linked arms with Sugar and Santana and walked in. Santana felt someone on her other side and saw Brittany. She started to feel sick again. That is until she heard Rachel's voice._

_That voice seemed to cut through everything Santana was feeling. It just seemed to fill her with some kind of warmth. She then heard Mercedes singing beside her and found herself joining in. She still couldn't really see properly, but she locked her eyes on Rachel and let her voice fill the emptiness._

_One by one the others pulled Sugar, Mercedes and Brittany away. Santana was left alone._

The angles never arrived  
>But I can hear the choir<br>So will someone come and carry me home

_Santana had never sang truer words. She needed someone. When she saw Rachel smile as she walked toward her and took her hand, she felt as if her heart was going to burst. She was going to be okay._

Tonight.

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><p>Santana shook her head, unsure as to why she was smiling. The past week had been hell. On the days she actually made it to school she was a zombie. She hardly talked to anyone. She didn't have anything to say anyway.<p>

She was angry. She was hurt. In the past two weeks she had lost her abuela, her girlfriend, the Troubletones and sectionals. Those were the things that had made her the happiest. But now she didn't have any of them left.

Quinn had come over a couple times; she even brought Rachel, Mercedes and Sugar once. Those were the only good memories she had from the last week. Everything else was just a blur. A big, sad blur.

Santana unglued her eyes from the back of Rachel's head and looked at the paper Rachel was doodling on. She saw Rachel draw a big happy face. Santana snickered and then Rachel stuck her tiny, non-manish hand out to the side and gave a little wave back to Santana.

Santana gave the chair in front of her a little kick. "Pay Attention, Berry."

"To what exactly, Lopez?" Rachel turned around to smile at her just as Mr. Schuester walked in.

"You're all here! Good! Thank you all for coming and staying a bit late on your last day. I know you're all excited for the holidays!"

His enthusiasm was met by grumbles from the students.

"This club has gone through a lot recently, but I'm proud of each and every one of you for your amazing work at sectionals! As a reward, and as a way to help us get back on track to prepare for regionals, I have organized a trip for us all!"

This was met by a little more excitement and a bunch of people talking at once.

"Whoa guys! Give me a second to explain before all the questions. And yes, I see your hand, Rachel."

The part of Rachel's face Santana could see turned red as she lowered her hand. Santana felt angry. Other people had been talking, why didn't he say anything to them? Before she could say something though, he started talking again.

"We are going to a camp on Indian Lake! It's only an hour away and they have an amazing team building program!" Mr. Schuester smiled as he looked around at everybody.

"Are you kidding me?"

"This has to be a nightmare."

"Do you know how cold it gets by the lake this time of year?"

Santana looked around at her teammates. The ones whose faces she could see looked angry. Then she saw Rachel's hand shoot in the air.

"Yes, Rachel?" Mr. Schue said with a sigh. Santana got angry again.

"If I may voice the concerns I'm sure everyone has right now, and speak on behalf of the entire club -" Santana saw Quinn smile at Rachel as she babbled. "How are we supposed to pay for this? I'm sure it's a lot of money to spend so close to the holidays. And how can we get away with missing a whole week of school? For most of us, it's our senior year, I don't believe I need to explain how crucial each and every lesion -"

"Rachel," Mr. Schue cut her off. "This won't cost anyone anything. We're getting a deal for going in winter, and since we've gained the Troubletones, we've absorbed their budget as well."

"And the lessons?"

"I'm getting there, Santana. You won't be missing any school because we're going over winter break!"

If everyone was mad before, they were positively livid now. Everyone just started yelling at once. No one seemed to think it was very fair that they would miss out on their vacation. No one seemed to think the problems in the group were their fault either. Santana didn't really mind, she didn't have any plans for break anyway.

Mr. Schuester slammed his hand down on the piano. "Enough! Everyone's going! I talked to all of your parents or guardians today, and you've all been given the green light to go. We'll be leaving the Thursday after Christmas, Chanukah for Rachel and Puck, and we'll get back a couple days before school starts up again."

"But that means we'll be gone for New Years Eve, I was gonna get smashed!"

"That's too bad, Puck, you'll now be spending the night with your teammates. I've got packing lists with rooming arrangements and permission forms attached. Take one and pass the rest along and I'll see you all on the 29th!"

Rachel passed the papers back to Santana and let her fingers brush Santana's hand. She shivered, and then looked up at Finn who had suddenly stood up and looked pissed.

"Do you really think this is necessary? I mean, we're a team, a good team. We always have been, and we always will be." Santana heard the little brunette in front of her scoff.

"Of course this is necessary Finn. Just look at the way you guys are sitting." Schue gestured at both side of the room. "Some of you can't even stand sitting near each other and have to sit on opposite sides of the room! We need to fix this! It's about time we stopped focusing on everyone trying to date each other, and worked on our friendships!" Schue gathered up the rest of his stuff and left the choir room.

"I agree with Mr. Schue," Quinn spoke up with most other people nodding along. "This is going to be fun."

Finn, Kurt and Blain left first, with everyone else saying their goodbyes and wishing the others a happy holiday.

Santana gave a hug to Quinn and Mercedes, and then picked up her coat and bag stashing her papers inside. She took her time so she wouldn't have to say anything to Brittany. When she looked up, she saw it was just her and Rachel left.

"Jeez Berry, you scared me." The other girl's smile fell a bit.

"Sorry Santana, I just wanted to wish you a merry Christmas."

"Thanks Berry. Hope you have a happy Chanukah. You walking to the parking lot?"

Rachel's smile returned. "Yes I am! I just have to go and pick up my knapsack."

They made their way to Rachel's locker. The school seemed to be completely silent.

"So, what are your plans for Christmas, Santana?"

"Um… nothing really. My parents made plans to go on a vacation over Christmas moths ago, and I was going to spend the holidays with my abuela, but she's not really talking to me, you know. So I'll just get the house to myself for a week." Santana tried to sound excited but she wasn't sure she managed to pull it off.

"Well you're always welcome at the Berry house Santana!" Rachel linked their arms as they left the school.

They walked in silence to the last two cars in the lot, right next to each other.

"I'm going to hug you, okay?" Without waiting for a response, Rachel gave Santana a tight hug, which she returned. The shorter girl was so warm and her hair smelt wonderful. Like berries. Santana pulled away and walked to her car.

"Hey Santana, did you look at the rooming list? It looks like we're going to be roomies!"


	2. Chapter 2

Santana could hardly believe it was only Christmas Eve. She was bored out of her mind and she'd only been on break for two days. She had already opened all her presents and eaten all the Christmas chocolates.

She had gone Christmas shopping with Quinn the day before. She had fun and was glad she and Q were friends again and she even found herself hoping Rachel was going to turn up, but she never did. After losing her best friend and girlfriend in one go, she needed all the friends she could get. Surprisingly, Santana found she actually enjoyed the other glee girls' company.

She spent the rest of the day breaking, then eating, the gingerbread house her mom had made and watching crappy Christmas specials on tv. She also managed to find the camp they were going to online. It looked pretty nice and she would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't excited.

The next morning Santana woke up feeling very sick. She shouldn't have eaten all that candy the day before. When she checked her phone for the time, she saw she had a bunch of texts from some glee clubbers wishing her a merry Christmas. Most of the texts were sent early in the morning, Santana hadn't even realized she had slept past noon.

"Merry Christmas to me."

She sent back replies to everyone as she got up and grabbed her running clothes. She wasn't going to spend another day stuck on that couch.

Once she started running she felt that familiar feeling of ecstasy only a good run could give her. No one was outside and with the snow it was quite peaceful. She wanted to run forever, but she also didn't want to over do it so after a while she decided to turn around and head home.

As she got closer to her house she noticed a car in her driveway. She knew that car. She sped up and sure enough, as she ran up her driveway, she found a familiar brunette sitting on her front step.

"Berry," The smaller girl's head snapped up in surprise. "What are you doing here?" Santana walked up to her front steps trying to catch her breath.

"Hello Santana, I just wanted to bring you your Christmas present." Rachel pulled out an elegantly wrapped package from her bag. "I was worried you weren't going to show up."

"I always show up." Santana replied with a wink. "Come on, let's get you inside, unless you're frozen to my steps." Santana held out her hand to help Rachel up.

After they got in and took off their coats Santana led Rachel into the family room.

"Do you want a drink for food or something? Feel free to eat that." Santana gestured to the destroyed ginger bread house.

"I'm okay, thank you. Also, thank you for allowing me into your beautiful home, I realize it was rude of me to show up unannounced."

Santana shrugged. "No big deal."

Rachel beamed. "Here, open this!"

Santana took the present from Rachel as she sat down beside her on the couch.

"You didn't have to do this, and I didn't get you anything."

"That's perfectly fine, Santana. Just open it." Rachel looked anxious so Santana got to work on opening the present.

"All right, all right. Calm down."

Santana undid the perfect bow, then peeled off the wrapping paper trying not to rip it. Santana held up the gift.

"Amy Winehouse's new CD? How did you know I wanted this?"

"An educated guess." The smiles on both their faces were huge. "You really like it?"

"I love it Berry. Thank you." Santana smiled shyly as Rachel leaned over and gave her a big hug. That intoxicating berry smell filled her nose. "Crap, I probably smell horrible. I forgot I just finished a run, sorry!"

"You don't at all." Rachel leaned back against the couch and curled her legs up underneath her. "Santana, may I ask you something?"

"Uh oh." She smiled at Rachel. "Out with it, Berry."

"Why do you still call me Berry? I assumed that, despite our tumultuous past, we were developing some semblance of a friendship. However, you referring to me by my last name seems to contradict my previous assumptions."

Santana looked at the sad girl beside her. As she took her hand, Rachel looked up.

"How many Rachels do you know?"

"I'm not sure why that's relevant."

"It is. Just answer."

"A lot." Rachel answered hesitantly.

"Exactly. I know six. Half of them are on the Cheerios. Now, how many Berrys do you know?"

"Well, half my family has the last name Berry…"

"Of course, but I meant at school. There's only one Berry. I guess I just find it more fitting. It's one of a kind, like you." Santana could feel her cheeks redden.

"Well that certainly makes sense. So it's not because you still hate me?"

Santana started to laugh, but stopped once she saw the hurt in the smaller girl's eyes. "No, I don't hate you. I never really have. I guess I've been a bit of a bitch to you. I'm sorry, Rachel."

"Hey." Rachel squeezed Santana's hands. "It's alright. But now is not the time for this. It's Christmas."

"You're Jewish."

"Thank you, Santana. And thank you for calling me Rachel. Now that I know you don't hate me, why don't we go and not celebrate Christmas at my place?"

"Not celebrating Christmas sounds fantastic. Let me go shower and then we'll head out."

"Go quick or I'm leaving without you, Lopez!"

After Santana showered and got ready to go, she headed back downstairs to the waiting brunette.

"Well don't you clean up well. I hope that jacket's not real leather by the way."

"Of course it's not real. And you're one to talk, you should wear normal clothes more often." Santana looked down at Rachel in her jeans and pea coat.

"Thank you? I'm not sure if that was a complement or not, but I'll take it. Ready to go?"

"Born ready. Hey Rach, can we listen to the new CD in the car?"

"Of course! Go grab it!"

Santana ran back into the family room with a big smile.

"Looks like it won't be a blue Christmas after all."

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><p><strong>AN - Wow, thank you to all reading this and an extra big thank you to those who commented. I've been writing for a while but this is the first story I've decided to post. All comments/critiques are welcome! Most of the story is already written so you can expect fairly frequent updates, I'll do my best. Thanks again!**


	3. Chapter 3

Over at Rachel's the girls set themselves up on the couch with tons of blankets and pillows.

They spent the afternoon laughing at all the ridiculous Christmas specials and eating lots of vegan snacks.

Although Rachel's house was the last place Santana would have imagined spending Christmas, she was having a great time. It almost felt like when Santana would hang out with Brittany and Quinn. Santana found herself missing those days and from then on decided to make sure she didn't push Rachel away the way she did with Quinn and Brittany.

Even though they had started at opposite ends of the couch, after a couple hours they were sitting very close to each other. Santana had an arm around Rachel and the smaller girl was using Santana's shoulder as a pillow, despite the many more comfortable pillows around. Yet Santana didn't seem to care. She felt comfortable.

Ever since she had come out, Santana found it hard to feel comfortable. She was a physical person, and flirted often. It didn't mean anything to her, yet she now worried her female acquaintances on the Cheerios would take it the wrong way. She didn't feel that way with Rachel though. She could cuddle up next to the other girl and it didn't seem like Rachel had any problem with it.

"Hellooo! I hope you haven't been eating all day, I got dinner!"

Santana jumped away from Rachel. Abruptly shaken from her thoughts by the sound of Rachel's Dad's voice. She hadn't seen Rachel's fathers all afternoon. She knew one was working, and Rachel said something about her dad working on something, somewhere in the house.

"Daddy!" Rachel jumped up and gave the big man a hug. "You brought Chinese food!"

Santana got up and stood awkwardly beside the couch.

"Of course I did, it's Berry family tradition!" Rachel's daddy looked past Rachel at Santana. "And who's this lovely young lady, pumpkin?"

"Oh! I'm sorry, how rude of me! Daddy, this is Santana Lopez, San, this is my Daddy." Rachel grabbed Santana's hand and pulled her over.

"Hello Mr. Berry, it's nice to meet you." Santana smiled at the tall man. She was relieved he didn't immediately kick her out once he found out who she was. If he had any idea she was one of the girls who had made Rachel's life hell for years, he didn't show it.

"Oh please, call me Leroy, Mr. Berry makes me feel old and gets confusing when my better half is around. Where is he anyway? I'd better go find him, you two put the food out. You are staying, aren't you, Santana?"

"If you'll have me, Mr. - Leroy."

"Of course, friends of Rachel's are always welcome." He turned and walked out of the room. Rachel, who still had Santana's hand, followed after him pulling Santana along. They turned into the kitchen to see three big bags of food.

"Do you like Chinese food?" Rachel let go of Santana's hand and moved around to the other side of the counter. Santana's hand felt cold without it.

"Of course Rach, doesn't everyone?"

Rachel smiled and started pulling out cartons of food.

"Can you grab plates from those cupboards please? And forks from that drawer?"

"Sure thing." Santana grabbed the requested items and set them down on the counter. Santana chewed her lip and looked at the smaller brunette. "Hey Rachel, can I ask you something?"

"Anything." Rachel looked up from the bag at Santana.

"Your father seemed so nice to me. Does he… I mean, have you told him…" Santana groaned, she was always so good with her words, why was this so hard to say? "Does he know I used to slushie you and stuff?" Santana found she couldn't look at Rachel, but felt the other girl staring at her.

"No Santana, they don't know anything about my life at school. We're all happier not talking about it really. And that's the past now anyway. Will you grab those cups for me?"

She shot Santana that fabulous show smile and returned to unpacking the rest of the food. Santana couldn't believe the other girl could be so nonchalant about the issue. She felt horrible.

"I'm still so sorry, Rachel."

Rachel turned to look straight at Santana. "I know San, and it's alright. Do you think I'd invite you to a Berry family tradition if I were still angry? Or even spend the day snuggled up on the couch with you? We're friends now Santana, that's all that matters."

Santana smiled and moved closer to Rachel to give her a hug.

"Hello girls! That looks delicious!"

Rachel and Santana jumped apart. Santana could feel her cheeks grow hot and saw a bit of a blush on Rachel's tan face. Both Rachel's dads were standing in the kitchen doorway smiling.

"Lee said we had company! Nice to meet you! I'm Hiram, you must be Santana!"

Santana could easily tell that Hiram was Rachel's biological father. Even though Santana had only just met him, he seemed to be just as dramatic and was even wearing a tacky holiday sweater. They obviously shared the same fashion sense.

"Enough chit chat! The food's getting cold, Hiram hun, I'll grab your plate if you set up the game."

"Yes sir." Hiram winked at Santana and walked out.

"What game?" Santana asked turning to Rachel.

"You'll see." Rachel shot Santana a cheeky smile before grabbing a plate of food.

Santana and Rachel got their food and followed Leroy out into the dining room where Hiram had set up Pictionary.

"Santana's my partner!" Leroy said as he put his hand on Santana's shoulder.

Santana looked up at Leroy. "Are you sure? I haven't played this in a while."

"Of course! These two will finally have some competition. Finn was a horrible partner." Leroy winked at Santana.

"Daddy!" Rachel chastised her father, but she was beaming at both he and Santana.

They all sat down with Santana and Rachel on one side of the table and Hiram and Leroy on the other. As they ate, they played the game.

Leroy and Santana didn't win. It wasn't even close. Rachel and her dad seemed to share a brain.

"It would get annoying if they weren't so cute." Leroy whispered to Santana as Hiram and Rachel did their, what appeared to be choreographed, victory dance. Santana nodded in agreement. She, no, they, were very cute.

"I heard that!" Rachel yelled.

"Of course you did. Come on, Santana, let's go get more food."

"Hey! Wait for us!" Hiram grabbed his plate and chased after his husband.

Santana felt Rachel's arm snake around her back as she pulled her into a small side hug. "Having fun?" She was out of breath after that dance routine.

"Of course. Even though you completely destroyed us."

Rachel laughed. "That was nothing, you two put up a good fight. Daddy likes you."

Santana felt her smile grow larger. Her face was hurting she had smiled so much tonight already. It felt nice after the horrible few weeks she had been having. "I like your family too. Come on, let's go grab more food before it's all gone."

Once they had gotten their food, they made their way back to the dining room and ate and talked.

Santana mainly listened, yet never felt left out of the conversation. Her leg was pressed up against Rachel's and every now and then Rachel would give her leg a squeeze.

"Did you get enough to eat, Santana? I'm sorry most of it was vegan, but this one is picky." Rachel squeezed her leg again.

"I am not picky, it's a dietary choice!"

Santana laughed. "Yes, thank you Hiram, and Leroy. Thank you for letting me join in on your family tradition. I've had a lot of fun." Another leg squeeze.

"You're quite welcome, Santana. It's nice to have Rachel's friends over. Pardon me if I am being impolite, but I must ask, how come you're not spending Christmas with your family?"

"Dad -"

"No, it's okay, Rachel." Santana squeezed the other girl's leg this time. "My parents went on a vacation over the holiday. I was going to spend Christmas with my grandmother, but we've recently had a… falling out." Santana looked over a Rachel and felt her take her hand under the table. She saw Leroy and Hiram look from her to Rachel.

"Oh! You must be the girl Rachel was talking about. She didn't use any names of course, but she said a girl in glee had recently had a hard time coming out. At first I thought it was Quinn. I'm sorry, Santana, Rachel was very worried about you. We told her just to be a friend to you, that's all you can do. If you ever need anything we're always here to talk." Hiram reached across the table and grabbed the hand that was not currently occupied by his daughter as Leroy nodded in agreement.

Santana wasn't really sure what to say. Here were these two strangers being nicer to her than some of her family had been. "Thank you, Rachel has been a great friend." Santana smiled at the two men, then at their daughter.

"Alright! No more sad stuff. Non-Christmas is a happy time! Daddy, San, wanna go for round two at Pictionary?"

"NO!" Santana and Leroy said in unison. Everyone laughed and conversation picked up again.

Santana felt happier than she had in a long time. If someone had told her a moth ago she'd be out to everyone and having a great time at Rachel's on Christmas she would have called them crazy, then had them slushied. But now here she was. Santana pulled out her phone and checked the time. It was past midnight, Christmas was over, and although she didn't celebrate it this year, it was easily the best Christmas she could remember.

Santana heard Hiram yawn and stretch while checking the time. "My goodness! How'd it get so late?" Both Leroy and Rachel were shocked when he told them the time.

"I should really be getting home. Are you all right to drive, Rach? I can walk if you'd like?"

"No way, San. I'll drive you home, no problem." Rachel smiled and stood up while stretching. They had been sat at that table for a while.

"Thanks, Rachel, and thank you Hiram, and Leroy, I had a fantastic time."

"Our pleasure." Both Berry men yawned. "Thank you for being the best Pictionary partner. Maybe we'll beat them one day."

"Don't count on it, Lee. But I look forward to more challenges in the future, Ms. Lopez. Rachel, you drive safe and come right home after."

"I will, Dad."

Santana and Rachel bundled up and headed out into the cold. Rachel got the car running and heating up as Santana brushed the snow off.

The drive over was quiet except for Santana's new CD.

When they pulled into Santana's driveway, Rachel got out too and said, "I'll walk you to your door. It might be icy."

Grabbing her CD, Santana walked with Rachel up to the front door wondering how she was going to thank her for the amazing night.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Rachel asked as they reached the front door.

"How to thank you, for everything. The gift. Tonight. Your friendship. I don't deserve any of it." Santana stared down at her boots.

"Santana Lopez. None of that is true. You don't have to thank me, and you deserve all that and more. You're a phenomenal person, Santana, and I'm glad to call you my friend."

Santana blushed. "Thanks, Rachel. You're pretty special yourself."

"I know." Rachel shot Santana that diva smile. "No more 'thank you's. Goodnight Santana, and Merry Christmas." Rachel leaned up and gave her a light peck on the cheek.

Even though it was freezing out, Santana's face got very hot.

"Goodnight, Rachel, see you on Thursday for the big trip, roomie!"


	4. Chapter 4

The next couple of days after Christmas, Santana spent trying to stay busy so she wouldn't die of boredom. She went on countless runs to get fresh air and to keep in Cheerio shape, she watched the endless tv show marathons and she even worked on a bit of homework her moronic teachers had assigned for over the break.

She had decided she was going to invite some glee members over for a mini party, but everyone she texted was too busy with their families. So Santana was left alone since her parents weren't coming back until after she had to leave for the glee retreat.

When Wednesday, the day before the trip, rolled around Santana was thankful for a day filled with things to do. She had to do laundry, clean the house, go shopping and pack. Even though she'd rather do a Sue Sylvester workout than those mundane chores, she at least would not be bored all day.

She had made plans the day before with Sugar to go shopping for anything they may need. They had decided to delay shopping as long as possible to try to avoid the crazy after Christmas shoppers.

Santana pulled out the packing list to see what she had to buy. She had all the clothes and toiletries she would need, but wasn't so sure she had all the necessary camping gear. Even thought they would be sleeping in cabins, she still needed a sleeping bag, a flashlight and warm under-clothes. Although, if she was missing anything, she was sure Rachel would have two.

Santana set to work on grabbing all her warmest clothes, thankful she wouldn't have to bring her Cheerio's outfit along. She took all the clothes downstairs, shoved them in the washer, and then went to check out how much cleaning she had to do.

Luckily she had kept to the kitchen and the family room, so there wasn't a huge mess. She turned on her new CD and cleaned everything as quickly as possible.

Once she was done, she ran upstairs and jumped into the shower to get ready to go to the mall. After a quick shower Santana grabbed her phone to text Sugar, but she found there was already a text waiting for her from Sugar, and one from Rachel.

A smile broke out on Santana's face as she read the name. She hadn't heard much from Rachel after Christmas. Santana had been worried she had messed up somehow, or that the other girl just didn't care much about her. Santana knew she was being crazy, it had only been two days, and it was a busy time for everyone, but she just couldn't shake the feeling. It worried her that she cared so much, but she had had a great time on Christmas, and she really didn't want to screw up this friendship like she had with Quinn and Brittany.

Santana quickly opened the text from Rachel first.

**Hello Santana!  
>Are you all packed? I<br>made a revised packing  
>list that is more thorough<br>if you are interested. Let  
>me know! I'm excited for<br>tomorrow!  
>-Rachel<strong>

Santana laughed at the text as she read it. Of course Rachel would rewrite the packing list. Plus, she didn't sound angry or anything. Santana was feeling giddy and decided to mess with Rachel a little bit.

**Hey Rach - packed for  
>what? and whats 2moro?<br>-S**

Santana snickered and checked the text from Sugar.

**Heyy! I'll be your place  
>in 30!<strong>

Santana sent a quick text back and finished getting ready. She carried her phone around waiting for Rachel to text back. As Santana threw her wet clothes in the dryer, her phone went off again. She checked the phone with a grin.

**Very funny, Santana.  
>Don't try to act like you're<br>not excited! If you don't  
>want my list that's fine,<br>but would you like Daddy  
>and I to pick you up<br>tomorrow morning?**

Santana looked up from the phone when she heard her doorbell chime. She replied to Rachel as she got her stuff and headed out the door.

**that would b great. thx.  
>c u in the morning!<strong>

* * *

><p>Santana's shopping trip with Sugar went well. The other girl may be spoiled and a bit delusional, but she had a good time with her. They got everything they needed for the trip, and then had dinner in the mall.<p>

Santana spent the rest of the night packing and headed to bed once she was done. Shortly after falling asleep, her phone ringing jolted her awake. She answered the phone without checking who it was on the bright screen.

"Yeah?" Santana grumbled into the phone.

"Hello Santana! I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Rachel's cheery voice rang through the phone.

"Yeah, but it's alright. Although you'd better have a good reason for calling."

"I do! I just wanted to let you know the plan for the morning! That is if you still want my dad and I to pick you up…" Rachel's previous enthusiasm seemed to drop. Santana sighed. She was going to have to work on that bitchiness some more.

"Of course I do, Rach. If it's still alright with you and your dad. What time will you be here?"

"Awesome! We'll arrive at your place at 7 o'clock sharp! Mr. Schuester has asked us to be at the school for 7:30, so that will give us plenty of time!" Santana smiled, relieved that Rachel sounded happier.

"Sounds great. Thank you, Rachel. I'll see you in the morning?"

"You sure will! I'm sorry for waking you, I was going to just text you, however I did not feel up to reading your inarticulate response."

"Excuse me? Just because I don't write with proper grammar and spelling does not mean it's inarticulate." She tried to keep her tone even, but a little bitchiness slipped out. Santana worried she had upset Rachel, but soon enough she heard the other girl laugh.

"Okay, grumpy. Whatever you say. I'll see you bright and early in the morning!"

"Now you're just messing with me."

"Never! Alright Santana, sleep well, goodnight!"

"Thanks, Rachel. Goodnight to you too!" Santana tried to sound as cheerful as Rachel, and the last thing she heard before she fell back asleep was Rachel's laugh.

* * *

><p>Santana had to stop herself from throwing her phone across the room when the alarm went off in the morning. It felt as if she had just fallen asleep and it was still dark in her room.<p>

Once she finally managed to drag herself out of bed, she got ready and tried to make herself look as presentable as she could with as little effort as possible. She finished packing her bag and lugged it downstairs to the front door.

As she was drinking her large mug of coffee she got a text from Rachel.

**Good morning, Sunshine!  
>We're on our way!<strong>

Santana smiled into her coffee and sent back a quick text just to bug the other girl.

**k.**

Santana grabbed a granola bar to eat quickly and put her empty mug in the dishwasher. She got herself all ready to go, and soon enough, the little Berry was knocking on her door.

"Morning." Santana smiled at Rachel, who was all bundled up in her coat and scarf.

"Good morning! Ready to go?"

"Yup, all packed." Santana kicked her bag on the floor.

"Great!"

"How on Earth are you so excited? The sun's hardly out, how much coffee have you had today?"

"I'm excited, Santana! And I don't need all those chemicals to wake me up! Now, let's get going!" Rachel tried to pick up Santana's bag. Santana laughed as she watched the smaller girl struggle to carry the bag.

"Why is this so heavy?" Rachel huffed now trying to carry it out the door.

"It's really not that heavy, you're just tiny. Here, I'll take that, you take the sleeping bag. Okay?"

Santana followed Rachel outside, locked up her house, and then set off down the driveway.

Leroy was waiting by the car. He gave Santana a pat on the back and took the bag from her.

"Well this is much lighter than Rachel's. I had to carry hers downstairs for her. You sure you have enough?"

"Pretty sure, if not, I'm sure Rachel has everything else, and more."

Leroy laughed as Rachel scowled at the two of them.

"I don't like you two together. Let's get a move on, we're going to be late."

"You love us, sweetie. And relax, we have plenty of time, you'll probably be the first ones there. I'll make sure you get there on time, don't you worry."

Santana climbed into the back of the car beside Rachel as Leroy finished packing the trunk. Once he was done, they were on their way to the school.

"Thank you for picking me up by the way." Santana leaned forward to talk to Leroy.

"It's no problem, Santana. It makes sense, this way you don't have to leave your car there, and I was on my way to work early anyway."

"Plus you get to see me!" Rachel beamed at Santana as she leaned back into her seat.

"Excited?" Rachel asked her.

"I may be a bit more once I wake up a bit."

Rachel laughed, and then they spent the rest of the ride in a comfortable silence except for Rachel quietly singing along to the radio.

When they pulled into the school, Santana saw that Leroy had been right, they were the first students there.

Leroy helped them unload the bags, then gave each girl a hug goodbye and wished them a good trip.

Santana saw Rachel struggling with her bag, so she grabbed hers and then took Rachel's off her hands.

"Thank you, Santana, that was very chivalrous. I'll grab the sleeping bags."

"That'd be great." Santana smiled at Rachel as they walked over to the bus.

"Morning guys! You're the first ones here!" Mr. Schue yelled over to the girls.

"No shit." Santana muttered.

Rachel sent her a nudge in the ribs. "Santana!" She hissed at her while giggling.

They walked over to Mr. Schuester and Miss. Pillsbury and dumped their bags.

"Are you guys excited? Miss Pillsbury here has been kind enough to agree to be a chaperone on this trip! This is going to be fun! Everyone else should be arriving soon!"

Santana couldn't handle his cheeriness while she was still so tired, she just wanted to go back to bed.

Mr. Schue loaded the bags into the bus as Rachel and Santana climbed on the bus.

They headed to the middle of the bus and Santana slid into a window seat expecting Rachel to sit beside her. Instead, Rachel sat in the seat in front of her.

"More room to spread out. Now you can sleep." Rachel responded to Santana's confused look.

"I could sleep anywhere right now, Rach. You can sit beside me."

But Rachel just smiled and stayed where she was. The two of them talked as they waited for the others to arrive.

Once they were all on board the bus they set off for the camp. Mr. Schue had stood up and told them all it was only about an hour away, so it would be a fairly short ride.

Santana was sat beside Sugar and they were talking to Quinn and Rachel in front of them. Well, it was more Quinn, Rachel and Sugar talking, Santana wasn't really paying attention. But Sugar seemed to get along well with Rachel and Quinn, which was good, it would make team building easier.

Even though it was early, everyone was excited and noisy. Puck, Sam and Rory started singing in the back and soon enough half the club had joined in.

The conversation had died down between Sugar, Rachel and Quinn it seemed, and Sugar was now singing along with the loud boys.

Santana was left to let her mind wander. She watched her fellow glee members all having a good time, or trying to ignore everyone in some cases. In the front seats Finn was sitting beside Artie looking his usual miserable self. He kept sending angry looks back towards Rachel whenever he heard her loud laugh. Santana was happy Rachel didn't seem to notice though. She seemed pretty wrapped up in her conversation with Quinn.

Behind Finn and Artie were Mercedes and Brittany. They both were singing along with the club and Brittany was dancing in her seat. Santana realized her heart didn't hurt as much as it did a week ago whenever she looked at her. Now it only felt like someone was giving her a punch in the stomach. It still hurt, but it was progress.

"Santana?"

Her head snapped forward to the sound of her name. Rachel and Quinn were staring at her.

"Uh, sorry. What did you say?" Santana wasn't sure which of the two had asked her something.

"Did you have a good Christmas?" Apparently it was Quinn.

"Yeah," Santana caught Rachel's eye. "It was great. How about you?"

"Yeah, it was pretty good. Just mom and I this year. It was quiet."

"Well that's good." Santana added with a smile. Things still weren't perfect between the two, but they were both trying. Santana felt bad for not being there for Quinn during her breakdown, but she also had her own crap going on.

Rachel opened her mouth to say something, but Mr. Schue had chosen that moment to stand up and announce to them that they would be there soon.

Sure enough, they turned a corner and drove onto a dirt road leading them into the forest.

"Welcome to camp!"

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry this took so long to put up, New Years kicked my butt. I hope everyone had a great holiday! As always, feel free to review! And thank you again to all of those who have read and commented so far. Now that the holidays are over updates should be more regular! Enjoy!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

Everyone piled out of the bus, Artie rolled down his fancy ramp, and check out the camp. They had pulled up in front of a large building, which Santana assumed was the dining hall. There were two people standing outside waiting for them.

"Welcome to Camp Lakeview, McKinley High Glee Club! I am Logan, and this is Jade! We will be two of your counselors during your trip here!

Logan and Jade were both tall, outdoorsy looking people who seemed to be in their early 20s. They were all bundled up, but Santana didn't blame them, it was freezing by the lake. It felt like the temperature had dropped 20 degrees during the bus ride.

"Is everyone excited?" Jade looked around at the club expectantly. She got a few grumbles out of some, but most of the club stayed silent. "Well, we'll work on that! Alright! I'm going to call out your names and point you in the direction of your cabins! You'll have some time to unpack and have a look around! At noon you'll hear a bell ring, which means you should head back here to have lunch! Sound good?"

There were more mutters of affirmation now and Logan pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket.

"First up are the boys! In Birch cabin we have Mike, Finn, Blaine and Artie. If you guys will grab your bags and set off down that path, you'll find your cabin on the right!"

Half the boys picked up their bags, Mike put Artie's stuff on his lap and pushed him on the uneven dirt path towards their cabin. Logan passed the list to Jade. Santana hoped her name would get called so she could get out of this cold.

"Now for the girls! Staying in Willow is Tina, Mercedes, Brittany and Quinn! Just like the boys, grab your things but head off that way!" Jade pointed in the opposite direction the boys took. The other girls said goodbye and took off.

"Now that just leaves the rest of you! Rory, Sam, Kurt and Puck will be staying in Oak, which is down the same path your male friends just took, and your cabin is across from theirs!"

The last boys said their goodbyes and left.

"Don't forget to be back at non!" Schue called after them.

"And ladies, last but not least, you three, Santana, Rachel and Sugar, will be staying in Buckeye! It's in the same direction the girls went, but you are up on the hill a bit further down the path. Off you go!"

Relieved to finally get going, Santana grabbed both her bag, and Rachel's as the other girl grabbed the sleeping bags. Then she head off down the directed path with Rachel and Sugar.

A little way along the path they passed Willow cabin. Quinn was sitting on the front steps.

"All unpacked?" Rachel asked her.

"Not yet, I was going to go find the washrooms. You guys feel like going for a walk around after you're all unpacked?"

"That sounds wonderful, Quinn! We'll come find you here soon!"

They started walking again and found their cabin a little ways away from Willow. It took a small climb up some rocks to get to the cabin.

"This is going to get annoying, having to do this everyday." Sugar complained once they made it up.

"Look at it as a workout." Santana replied as she opened up the door to the cabin.

Santana walked in and found herself in a small hallway with a door on each side. She opened up the door on the right and found a room with two small beds and a dresser. The room looked like a typical cabin room, wooden walls, floors and ceiling, and the beds were bare except for a plastic covered mattress. There were two windows next to each bed with faded curtains and a radiator next to the bed on the right. Rachel had followed her into the room.

"Well this is nice!"

Santana arched her eyebrow at her.

"Well… it's quaint."

Santana snickered. "Let's go see what's in the other room."

They walked through the hallway and into the other room, which was the exact same as the one they had just left, only reversed.

"I call the solo room!" Sugar exclaimed.

Santana laughed, of course she'd get the room all to herself.

"That's okay with me, I don't mind sharing. If that's okay with you, Santana?"

"Well if this one won't share, looks like you're stuck with me."

Rachel laughed as they walked back to their side of the cabin.

"Which bed do you want?" Santana asked Rachel.

"Whichever, this one looks good to me." She replied putting her rolled up sleeping bag on the bed to the right.

Santana nodded and carried Rachel's bag over to her bed.

"Thank you! I guess I'll unpack now. Since there's only one dresser, I guess we'll share. I'll take the bottom two drawers, and you can have the top two?"

"Sounds good to me." Santana took her sleeping bag from Rachel and spread it out over her bed. She put her bag on top and opened it up to start unpacking as Rachel did the same.

She pulled out her pillow and set it on the bed. Then she grabbed all her clothes and took them over to the dresser and threw them in the top drawer.

"Done." Santana said while walking back to her bed and laying down.

"Did I just see you throw everything into your drawer, Santana?" Rachel walked over and opened the top drawer. "Santana! Everything's going to get all wrinkled! And there's no organization! You have two drawers for a reason!"

"Hey! My stuff is put away fine, I like it like that."

"Whatever you say. I'll be done here in a second, you still want to go on that walk with Quinn?"

Santana groaned into her pillow. "I was just starting to feel my toes again. But I'll go on that walk I guess."

It was silent for a minute while Rachel folded her clothes. "Brittany might be there." Rachel broke the silence with her small voice.

Santana sat up quickly. "So?" There was that tightness in her chest again.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I simply -" Just then there was a loud noise from the other room. Santana looked at Rachel.

"It's alright. I'm going to go see what she's up to." Without waiting for a reply Santana got up and left the room. She knocked on Sugar's door as she walked in.

Sugar was lying down on her bed. Her large bed. Sugar had pushed the two smaller beds together and covered them with sheets and her open sleeping bag.

"You brought sheets?"

"Of course, you think I'd sleep on just the bare mattress?"

"Guess not. Anyway, we were going to head over to the other cabin soon, you still coming?"

"Of course! I've just got to find my coat. It's freezing out there! It's not much better in here either though."

"I'll turn your radiator up for you later." Sugar smiled and got up to find her coat. She hadn't unpacked any of her things yet.

"Hey." Santana jumped when she heard Rachel behind her. "I brought your coat." She had that sad smile on her face again. Santana felt bad about snapping at her earlier.

"Thanks, Rach. Ready to go?" She stuck her arm out for Rachel to hold and smiled at her. That seemed to cheer her up a bit as she linked her arm through Santana's.

Santana and Rachel climbed down their hill and walked quietly through the forest. Santana thought about what Rachel had said earlier. She didn't really want to see Brittany, but they were stuck out here together for a week. It was then Santana realized that Rachel knew better than anyone what she was going through. She was going through the same thing with Finn. Santana felt bad for not realized it before. Rachel probably needed a friend here just as much as she did.

As they got closer to the cabin, Rachel pulled her arm out of Santana's and moved away a bit. Santana wondered what that was about, but Rachel didn't say anything.

They climbed the cabin steps and Rachel knocked on the door. They heard someone inside yell at them to come in so Santana opened the door and let Rachel in first. Inside, they found just one big room with two sets of bunk beds and two dressers. Quinn and Mercedes were sitting on one of the lower beds, Tina was fixing her sleeping bag and Brittany was hanging upside down from the top bunk.

The door behind Santana and Rachel opened and they made room for Sugar to come in.

"You guys could have waited for me! Oh! You all have bunk beds! Lucky!"

"Hold on, you've got two beds to yourself, how are you not lucky?" Santana quipped to Sugar.

Sugar just shrugged and went to sit with Mercedes and Quinn while striking up a conversation.

She heard a thud and looked over to see Brittany standing upright.

"Hey, S." This was the first time Santana had talked to Brittany since the night of sectionals. The blonde had tried to get in touch with her but Santana hadn't returned any of her calls or texts.

"Hello." She tried to smile but her mouth didn't want to work. Santana turned to everyone else in the room. "Ready for that walk?"

All the girls filed out of the room behind Santana, who had still not moved away from the door.

"What way should we go?" Tina asked the group once they were all outside and pulling on their jackets.

"Well I was out walking around a bit earlier, looking for a washroom, and it looked like the water was off that way." Quinn pointed in the direction of the path leading to the other girls' cabin. "Do you guys want to go check out the lake?"

After a smattering of nods they all got going. Quinn was leading the way with Rachel beside her and Santana was in the back with Mercedes. Sugar, Brittany and Tina were in the middle of the group.

"So what's your cabin like? Same set up as ours?" Mercedes asked Santana as they passed their cabin.

"It's not bad, ours is split into two rooms instead of one big one. Each room has two small beds, not bunk beds. It's quaint." Santana smiled when she used the same word Rachel had said earlier. It fit.

"Sounds nice. You stuck Berry by herself then?"

"No. I'm with Rachel." Mercedes sent a strange look towards Santana when she used Rachel's first name. "Sugar called the room to herself."

Mercedes laughed. "Stuck in the woods with Berry. I'm guessing one of you may not be making it back to Lima. I'm sure Quinn would trade with you if you wanted to come join our room. You could bunk with me."

Santana looked toward the small girl in the front of the group. It looked like Mercedes' loud voice had carried, Rachel wasn't talking animatedly to Quinn like she had been before and was now just walking with her head down.

"Way to work on that team building, Mercedes." Santana raised her voice to make sure Rachel heard. "I'm quite okay with sharing a room with Rachel, I don't want to switch."

"What's gotten into you, girl? I was only asking. Whatever. Did you hear why Berry and Finn broke up?" Santana was glad Mercedes had lowered her voice now, but she still didn't want to hear her.

Santana ignored Mercedes and pulled her phone out of her pocket hoping for service, and that Rachel had her phone on her. She was in luck with the service.

**sorry bout that. want  
>me 2 push her in the<br>****lake?**

Santana watched the back of Rachel hoping, again, that she had her phone. When she saw Rachel's hand go into her pocket, she smiled. Shortly after that, her phone vibrated.

**No thank you, Santana.  
>That would not be<br>good for team  
>building. You can<br>switch cabins if you'd  
>like however. I don't<br>mind."**

Santana typed a response quickly.

**it could be a team  
>effort to get her<br>back out of the lake.  
>and r u trying to get<br>rid of me Rach? its  
>not goin 2 work.<br>****your stuck wit me.  
><strong>**plus im already  
><strong>**unpacked.**

Santana head Rachel laugh shortly after she sent the text. She didn't get a reply since they had reached the lakefront.

It was even colder there than back at their cabins. It was a nice looking lake though. Small, but it looked clean. Santana hadn't seen many lakes to compare it to however. She pulled her hands into her jacket to try to stay warm as everyone dispersed along the bead. If you could call the small stretch of rocky sand a beach.

Santana moved away from Mercedes to go check out the dock. She was happy to get away from the gossip for a little while.

The dock was a large L shaped platform that stuck out over the water a fair bit. She walked out to the end of the dock and looked out over the bright water. Quinn joined her shortly after.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Quinn stood close to Santana, presumably to keep warm.

"Yeah." Santana wasn't quite sure what else to say about the lake. "Reminds me of the cheerleading camp we went to that summer before high school."

"I almost forgot about that. It feels like forever ago. That was fun. Everything's so different now."

Santana looked at Quinn. "I miss it."

"Me too." Quinn leaned into Santana and gave her a playful bump with her shoulder. "That was nice, what you said to Mercedes back there."

Santana shrugged. "It was the truth."

"I know. I've missed you, Santana."

"Yeah whatever." Quinn pulled Santana into a hug. "Me too, I guess."

"I always knew you're a big softy, San."

Santana pushed her away. "Am not, Fabray."

Quinn just laughed as the other girls joined them on the dock.

"It's too damn cold, let's head back. When's lunch anyway, I'm starving." Mercedes started to head back to the beach. Santana checked her phone.

"The bell should ring any minute now."

Sugar cheered and skipped off after Mercedes pulling a confused Tina behind her. Then the two blondes followed, leaving Santana and Rachel to take up the rear.

They walked back in a comfortable silence at first. Santana found herself staring at the back of Brittany, who was a fair distance away, and thought about that summer at camp.

That was the last summer the three of them had spent together as best friends. The competition between Santana and Quinn for head cheerleader tore them apart, and then life just got in the way. Things were getting better with Quinn though. Santana wondered if she'd ever be able to be friends with Brittany again.

"You miss her, don't you?"

Santana looked at Rachel, confused.

"Brittany. You've been staring at her for half of the walk back. I don't mean to upset you again. I only ask because if you need someone to talk to, I'm here. I mean, I'm currently going though a similar situation. You may find -"

"Rachel." Santana cut off the shorter girl and grabbed her mittened hand. "Thank you. I mean it. But I'm okay. I am." She added at Rachel's skeptical look. "And I'm here if you want to talk about man child. Sorry, Finn."

To Santana's surprise, Rachel laughed. "Thank you, Santana. But I've been over that oaf for a while." Santana laughed along with Rachel when they heard a bell ring. They both looked up and saw their cabin, but nobody else around. She didn't realize they had fallen so far behind.

"Come on, Rach." Santana sped up pulling Rachel along. "Move those tiny legs. I wants to get my grub on."

"We really need to work on your grammar, Santana. Also your texting."

"My texting is fine, thank you very much. It's faster." Rachel scoffed at that.

"It is not! You're only skipping a few letters every text. It cannot possibly be that much faster."

"Hey, no fighting. We're supposed to be working on our team building, remember?"

They both started to laugh as they turned the corner around the dining hall and met up with all the other girls.

Rachel let go of Santana's hand as they walked towards the others. She looked down to see where the warmth went and when she looked up almost all the girls were staring at them like they both had three heads. Except for Quinn and Brittany. Quinn was smiling at them and Brittany just looked confused.

"Problem?" Santana drew herself up and gave them her best head bitch look. They were standing in front of the group now.

"Santana, be nice. Team building." Rachel whispered.

Santana looked at Rachel, forgetting the others. "I'm going to hate those words by the end of this week won't I?"

Just then, Jade and Logan came out of the dining hall.

"Wow, the girls are the only ones here. That's a first!" Jade smiled at all of them.

"Not for long, here come the boys." Logan pointed down the path to the guys' cabins.

Jade moved down the steps and started talking to the girls while they waited for the boys. She asked them how they liked their cabins, if they had found the washrooms and what they had gotten up to during their downtime.

The boys had joined them by then. Puck, Mike and Sam looked dirty, like they had been climbing the trees or playing in the dirt, but the other boys looked like they had just woken up. Mike waved to Tina and walked over to their group to give her a hug.

Now that they were all there, Logan called everyone to attention and had them line up in two rows by gender. Santana ended up near the back between Quinn and Rachel. Jade told them that the girl's were to sit inside with Miss. Pillsbury and the boys with Mr. Schuester. Jade let the girls in first for getting to the dining hall first, then the boys came in behind them.

The dining hall was a fairly large room with about ten long tables with benches. At one end there was a kitchen and washrooms. The dining hall was connected to what appeared to be a rec room, which had a bunch of mismatched couches and games.

Getting lunch was simple enough. Two people from each table got up and got the trays with the food and the jugs of juice. Quinn and Tina were chosen to go up and get everything for the girls and Sam and Blaine for the guys. The guys' table was right beside them.

Lunch was quiet. No one had much to talk about. Miss. Pillsbury and Jade tried to get people talking as much as they could, asking questions about their holidays or their plans for after high school. Santana didn't want to talk about either, so she kept her head down and ate. Most people seemed to share the same idea.

Unfortunately, Jade had other plans. "Rachel?"

Santana saw Rachel, who was sitting across from her, look up from her special vegan meal.

"Yes?"

"What did you do for Christmas?" Jade smiled at her.

"I'm Jewish, so on Christmas I spent the night with my family playing board games and eating Chinese food."

Santana wasn't sure if Rachel was including her in her family, or simply leaving her out of the story.

"Well that sounds great!" Jade said cheerfully. "Santana, we haven't heard from you yet, what did you do for Christmas?"

Santana swallowed the food she had in her mouth before answering the too perky counselor.

"Same as Rachel."

"Ohh… You're Jewish too?" Jade looked confused.

"No, I'm not Jewish. My family was away, so I spent the night at Rachel's with her family."

"Hold up, you spent Christmas with Berry and you didn't tell me?" Mercedes looked down the table to Santana. The boys' table had gone quiet as well.

"Uh, yeah, because it's none of your business. However, since you care so much, I had a fantastic time with Rachel and her Dads. Happy now?" Santana stared down Mercedes.

"Sorry, Santana. I was just surprised."

"See! Now there's team building!" Jade beamed at all of them.

She kept quiet after that however and let them eat in peace. Once they were done, two people had to collect the plates and clear them and put them in bins. Santana and Mercedes got chosen for that job. Along with Puck and Finn from the other table.

Finn was glancing angrily at Santana while they scraped the leftovers into the garbage, but Santana couldn't figure out why. When she moved over to the bins she met up with Mercedes.

"So, are you and Berry friends now?"

"Rachel! Her name is Rachel! And even though it's none of your business, yes, we are. So be nice to her. And call her Rachel!"

* * *

><p><strong>So I changed Quinn's past a bit. I was never much of a fan of the "Lucy" story line, so I just kind of ignored it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

After lunch the glee club gathered together in the rec room. Their counselors had told them it was time to start some team building exercises. After her conversation with Mercedes, Santana wasn't in the mood to try and get along with her teammates. She just wanted to curl up in her warm sleeping bag.

Most of the club was spread out on the couches waiting for the counselors to come back from wherever they went. Finn, Puck and Sam had found a football in a bin and were goofing off and throwing it around. Santana watched the boys from the couch where she was sitting beside Quinn. She found herself wondering, not for the first time, how she ever thought she wanted to date them. Let alone sleep with them. She shivered at the thought, but was glad to know she never had to go back to that. She didn't have to hide anymore. Although, she didn't have a relationship to hide anymore either.

"What did we ever see in them?" Quinn whispered to Santana, making her laugh.

"I have no idea."

Mr. Schue was now yelling at the boys for hitting Miss. Pillsbury with the football. The counselors saved them, however, when they walked in carrying five different colored backpacks.

"Alright, everyone please take a seat!" Jade waited for the boys to make their way over to the couches before continuing. "Awesome, thanks! So who here is ready for a competition?"

This caught Santana's attention. She loved a good competition. Apparently everyone else was of the same mind, because they gave Jade their most enthusiastic response since they've been there.

"Good! This competition is going to require you to work in small groups. We're going to work on the small team building before we move on to the bigger ones! Now, your teachers," Jade gestured to Mr. Schue and Miss. Pillsbury standing beside her. "have assigned you in groups of three and with people you may not usually work with. Logan is going to call out the groups, I ask that you come up and grab any backpack off the table, and then go sit down with your group. Ready to get started?"

Everyone replied excitedly as Logan stepped forward with his list.

"The first team is Puck, Tina and Blaine." They all got up, grabbed the blue bag and sat together on an empty couch.

"Please do not open the bag until everyone has gotten one! Next up we have Finn, Mercedes and Brittany!" They all ambled up, and while Mercedes and Finn bickered over which bag to chose, Brittany grabbed the yellow one. Finn and Mercedes followed her back to the couches.

"On team 3 we have Mike, Artie and Santana!"

Santana got up and followed Mike and Artie to the table. She was happy with Mike, who had smiled hesitantly at her when her name got called. He would do well in a competition. Artie on the other hand she wasn't too excited about. Not only would he not do well in a race, if that's what this was, but he had dated Brittany as well. Santana realized that he had also dated Tina. She wondered who's bright idea it was to stick Artie with them.

Once they got up to the table, both the guys looked at Santana.

"What do you think? Red, green or purple?" Mike asked the two of them.

"How about red? It's a school color." Artie offered.

"Sounds good to me. Red is a fast color." Santana grabbed the bag and headed back to the couches with the boys.

"Only two bags left! Team 4 will be Rory, Kurt and Quinn, come chose your bag! Then team 5, Rachel, Sam and Sugar, come up and grab the last bag!"

Santana watched as Kurt picked the green bag for their team. Which left the Purple bag for Rachel's team. Rachel and Sugar had linked arms on their way to the table and back. Santana pegged them as the team to beat.

"Awesome work getting the bags!" Cheery Jade was talking again. "If you open them up, inside you'll find bandanas in your team color, a map of the camp, an envelope, also in your team color and some water bottles. The way the game is going to work is simple. There are envelopes hidden all around the camp. Each envelope has a letter in it. Your goal is to find all of the envelopes, return them here, unscramble the letters and spell out the mystery word! How do you find the letters, you ask? Well! In the envelope in your backpack you'll find a clue. Each team has a different clue, leading them to a different location. Also inside the envelopes with the letter is another clue. Solve that clue, move on to the next one. Now here come the twists! You guys still with me? The answer to each clue is a letter and a number. They go with the map in your bag. You'll see it's got a grid on it with numbers and letters. Use the number and letter you get in the clue and find the quadrant on the map, and you'll find out where the next clue is! Simple, right? Your team will have two runners and one thinker. The thinker will stay back here with the map and a walkie-talkie and tell you where to go. They may help you with the clues, but they have to stay here. Also, there are eight letters to find. Once you have found four, you come back here and drop them off to your thinker. After you drop them off you're free to go find the last four clues! I think that's all the rules. Oh yeah! The two runners will be tied together at the wrist! Any questions? No? Good, I'll give you a few minutes to strategize. Do not open your envelopes yet!"

All the groups huddled close to work out a strategy.

"Well it's safe to say I'll be the thinker." Artie turned in his chair to face Mike and Santana, who both laughed.

"Oh, I don't know. We could use you to roll over the other opponents." Santana joked.

"I like the way you think, but no, I'll be the brains, you two be the legs."

Mike smiled, turning to Santana. "You alright being tied to me?"

"Only if you can keep up with me, dancer boy."

"One minute!" Logan called.

"Okay, it sounds pretty straightforward." Artie lowered his voice and leaned in. "The only thing I can think of that might help is if you solve the puzzle for the fifth letter on your way back here so you know where you're going once you leave. Oh, and the letters on the map run north to south, while the numbers run west to east. So, higher numbers in the east, and higher letters in the south. Remember that so you can start running before I give directions."

"Time's up! Runners, grab your bandanas and come see me please!"

Mike tossed Artie his bandana before they headed over to meet with the other runners.

As they waited for everyone to get organized, Santana, with the help of Mike, tied her own bandana around her upper arm, while Mike tied his around his head. Santana also put her hair up to keep it out of her face while running. "Which side would you like to be on?" Mike asked her.

"I'm left handed, so we'll tie my right to your left. Sound good?"

"Works for me."

"Team 1! Blue team runners, please step forward! Here are your walkie-talkies. You'll be on the same channel as your team number, remember that. Also, I'd suggest not wearing the backpack fully on your back, as it will be tricky to get things in and out of it with only one hand!"

Everyone nodded along as Puck and Tina stepped forward to get tied together. Santana looked at Mike, who didn't look too happy.

"Number 2, yellow team, you're next!"

This time it was Finn and Brittany getting tied together. Santana chuckled to herself when she thought about Finn and Brittany trying to solve the clues. At least they would be fast.

"Team 3, come on over!"

Santana and Mike walked over and each took a walkie-talkie as they were tied together with a red bandana. After they were done, and Quinn and Kurt were stepping forward, they headed back to Artie who had followed Mike and tied his red bandana to his head.

"We're channel three." Mike told Artie as he passed him the walkie-talkie.

"Thanks, remember, radio me the letter and the number as soon as you figure them out."

"Will do, wheels."

Mike took the clue envelope from the bag. "I think that's all we'll need for now. You hold the walkie and I'll carry the bag."

Santana slid the device into her left pocket as Mike shrugged the backpack onto his back.

"If we hold the extra strap with our tied hands it should stay on better." Mike suggested.

"Runners line up outside please!"

Santana and Mike said goodbye to Artie as he wished them luck, and joined the others outside. They lined up with their backs against the wall. Santana felt someone hit her shoulder.

"Ready to go down, Lopez?" Rachel was trying to look menacing but couldn't quite pull it off.

"In your dreams, Berry." The two laughed. Santana looked down and frowned at Rachel and Sam's joined hands. Santana found herself wishing she could switch places with the blonde. Her and Rachel would have made a better team. She was smarter than him. Probably faster as well.

"What's wrong, San?"

"Hm?" Santana snapped her eyes up realizing she had been staring at their hands, frowning. "Nothing. Just thinking how sad it will be for you when you lose." Rachel laughed.

Santana leered at Sam as she felt her arm move toward Mike's stomach.

"Sorry, I was itchy." Mike put their hands down to their sides again and took out the envelope with his other hand. "I'll have to use both hands to open it."

"That's alright. I just hope you've gone to the washroom."

"Alright team! On the count of three, open your clues and get going! One!" Santana pulled out the walkie-talkie and Mike got the envelope ready. "Two! Three! Go!"

Some teams took off running before opening their envelopes, Sam and Rachel being one of them, but Santana and Mike stayed at the wall as he tore open the envelope and read the clue.

"I'm at the top of both faces." Mike scrunched his face. "Both faces, your face and… a watch face!"

"I - 12" Santana said hurriedly.

"That'll be in the south east, let's go while you talk to Artie."

They took off as Santana radioed Artie.

"Wheels, where's I - 12?"

"That's on the beach, way to the east, past the dock. It looks like there's a large rock in the area."

"Thank you!"

Mike and Santana ran down the path to the boys' cabins. They passed Finn and Brittany looking around a blue cabin.

"Looks like there'll be a clue there." Mike said as they rushed past.

"Or they're just lost. Do you want to go any faster?"

"I think this is good, we don't want to trip or we'll both go down."

"If you take me down, I'll kill you, Chang."

Mike laughed as they came to some stairs leading to the water. They raced down them and took off running on the sand but they had to slow down it was so rocky and uneven.

When they reached a boulder they stopped and looked around. Mike found a purple envelope under some smaller rocks, which he covered again and went looking for a red envelope. As he knelt down to pick up their clue he pulled Santana down with him.

"Sorry, get Artie ready."

Santana called Artie again. "Found it. Get ready for the clue, Mike will read it."

"Okay." Mike tore open the envelope and found two cars. One with a letter, and one with a clue.

Santana turned on the walkie as Mike read.

"Not after, but blank."

Mike and Santana both yelled out the answer.

"B - 4!" They heard Artie over the walkie-talkie. "Good. Go north back to the main building, head around back and take the path into the forest heading north. About halfway along, there'll be a smaller path on your left. There a spot labeled tire in B - 4."

"Thank you!" They had already started running again. They hadn't even paused to put the cards in the bag.

"What letter did we get anyway?"

"S."

"Well that should narrow it down." Santana replied sarcastically.

As they ran past the main building they saw Puck and Tina heading in.

"They can't have four already!" Mike stared back at the building.

"Maybe their next clue is in the dining hall." Santana replied hopefully.

They found their second clue easily enough. They followed the path Artie told them to take and found a giant tire strung up between two trees. Their clue was inside the tire. Mike opened it quickly and read it out loud.

"The letter you seek is second in leak. Your number is one more than your one letter's number."

"Well the letter is easy. E. The second letter in leak. Your number is one more than your one letter's number?"

"It's six. E is the 5th letter of the alphabet. One more is six."

"That makes sense. Let's go, I'll call Artie."

"Artie! E - 6!"

"That's the west half of the dining hall. I'm guessing you know where that is?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"No problem. You guys should know, Sam and Rachel just solved their 4th clue. They're headed north, maybe try to trip them?"

"I'm on it."

Sure enough, as they were leaving the forest they saw Sam and Rachel racing up the path.

"Hey, losers!" Mike called to them, surprising Santana.

"I think you're the loser here, buddy!" Sam called back.

Santana smiled at Rachel as they ran past.

"No smiling at the enemy, Lopez! Now do you want to search inside or outside first?"

"I say quick outside first, then inside. There are more places inside to hide it."

As they ran around the outside of the building they found nothing. When they got in they stopped to catch their breath. It was going to be harder to find the envelope in there. There were four tables and twice as many benches to look under.

After looking under two table and four benches, Santana was getting tired of getting up and down while trying not to bump into Mike. She stopped and took a breather and looked around the room. Suddenly a red rectangle caught her eye.

"It's on the wall! Look up there!" Santana pointed with her free hand. At the top of the wall there was their envelope stuck to the wall.

They ran over and Mike tried to jump and grab it.

"It's too high up. Here, help me move this bench."

"No climbing on the benches or tables!"

They spun around to see Jade sitting on the serving counter in front of the kitchen. They hadn't noticed her before.

"I guess you'll have to climb on my shoulders." Mike looked at Santana before turning to Jade. "Can she climb on the bench to get on my shoulders?"

"Yes, that's fine. Be careful."

Mike helped Santana up onto the bench, and then somehow they managed to hoist Santana up onto his shoulders. Once up there, Santana was able to grab the envelope.

"We should just stay like this!"

"No. You ready to let me down?"

"Yeah, step off carefully."

Once they were both safely on the ground, Santana opened the envelope as they ran into the rec room to see Artie.

They let him read the clue.

"Rhyme time. I'm the consonant in your state and the number you want is blank."

"Our state, Ohio. So H. What number rhymes with H?" Santana reread the clue.

"Eight! Eight rhymes with state! I'll check what's in H - 8." Artie pulled out the map.

"Stairs! The ones at the end of the boys' path. That's your forth letter, come back once you find it. Don't forget to read the fifth clue on you way back!"

As they left the rec room they saw Rachel and Sam running out of the forest. Around the corner they saw Kurt and Quinn running towards the girls' path.

"I thought I saw something red sticking out under the handrail on the stairs when we ran past earlier." Mike puffed. "This one should be quick."

Sure enough Mike found the envelope right away and they spun around and dashed back.

"What's the clue say?" Santana was getting short of breath.

"Good work! You're halfway there! Head back yada yada… The clue is a math problem. The first digit gives you the letter, the 2nd is the number. We can't do this while running. We'll get Artie to solve it so we can take a drink."

They got to the rec room doors the same time as Tina and Puck. The two of them had dirt all over them. Mike let them go in first.

"Mike! Now is not the time to be a gentleman!" Santana heard Puck laugh ahead of them.

When they reached Artie they gave him the four letters and the next clue.

"Can you solve that for us, we're gonna take a drink." Mike slipped the backpack off and got the water out. Opening it was trickier, so Santana had to help him.

After a long drink the two turned to Artie who was working on the problem. Santana looked at the card over his shoulder.

**4(29-26) + 9(21-14)**

"75." Both boys looked at Santana. "What? I like math. Problem?"

"No! G is the 7th letter, then 5." Mike grabbed Artie's map. "It's a cabin."

"That's my cabin. Come on, Mike. See you, Artie!"

They ran past Tina and Puck still talking to a confused looking Blaine as they ran into the dining room. Before they left they heard Puck yell. "You sent us in the wrong direction?"

"Well that's one team down." Santana said happily.

"I hope he wasn't yelling at Tina."

"No way, he looked totally angry at Mr. Small Pants." That seemed to cheer Mike up.

"Do you think the clue is in your cabin?"

"I don't think so. But we're on a hill, this is going to be fun."

After a couple minutes of fruitless searching and walking up and down the hill, Santana was freezing and exhausted. Mike made her keep going and tried his best to keep her attitude positive.

"We'll find it, Santana. It'll be around this corner. We found the green envelope, so we know we're at the right spot. It's got to be here somewhere." As they turned the corner Santana saw the envelope resting on a branch of a large tree at the bottom of the hill.

"We must have walked past this stupid tree ten times! Can you reach it, or do I have to climb on you again?"

"I should be able to reach it, I may have to jump though."

Mike jumped and grabbed it in one try and opened it quickly. "Want to read it?"

"Sure. For the musical jocks."

"That's us." Mike smiled.

Santana read on. "Your letter is in the lowest **space, **and the highest **line. **It says treble clef in brackets. Which is easy, that's F. Let's head a bit north while we work on the number. It says you have four tries to get from one **line **to the other. The number of yards in this **space **is…"

"Ten. It's talking about football. Better call Artie. I think we're already in F, 10 will be that way. Want to cut through the forest?"

"Of course." Santana called Artie. "F - 10. We're already in F, what's in 10?"

"That's the other boys' cabin. Not ours, Mike."

Santana and Mike started to run again, it felt nice to warm up, but Santana's legs were killing her.

"Only two more after this. We've got this, Lopez!"

Santana appreciated Mike's positivity.

Cutting though the forest was tricky, there were lots of trees, rocks and roots, but it saved a lot of time.

They found the next envelope quickly. It was hanging from a tree behind the cabin. There were two other envelopes still hanging beside theirs, and two empty strings. Mike tore their envelope off the tree leaving blue and yellow behind.

"At least we're not last." Santana said.

"That's the sprit!" Mike opened the envelope. "You're almost there, just find two more. Use your radios if you get stuck. 3 - 10 over and out."

"That's it? Do you think it's really just 3 -10? C - 10?"

"Must be, Artie will check. There's always been something in each location, if there's anything in C - 10 he'll tell us. Do you remember where we are now?"

"Yeah, F - 10. So we just run straight north!"

"I think we should stick to the trail. I almost twisted my ankle twice. I'd hate for you to kill me for taking your down now that we've got this far." Mike gave Santana and shoulder nudge as she got out the walkie-talkie to call Artie.

"Hey Artie, is there anything in C - 10?"

"C - 10… yeah, the ropes course. It's on the opposite side of the forest from the tire."

"Thanks!" Santana and Mike started running up the path. "That must be where Rachel and Sam were headed before."

They passed by Finn and Brittany again a little ways along the path, but saw no one else the whole way to the ropes.

Once they got there, they saw a whole bunch of ropes up in the air tied between trees. Santana was really hoping they wouldn't have to go up there to get a clue. Logan was waiting for them near some ropes closer to the ground.

"Welcome, red team! To get the clue, you have to beat this trust test. It's simple, you each stand on a rope facing each other, and holding hands, you move along the ropes sideways. As you get farther apart, you'll have to hold each other up in order to stay standing. Ready?"

They both climbed on and grabbed hands. It was slow at first, and the height difference was tricky, but they were both strong and managed to get to the end without falling.

"Well done, you're the first team to make it on the first try! Here's your clue. Good luck!"

Santana opened it this time and read out loud.

"Tick tock, it rhymes with clock."

Santana and Mike looked puzzled and Mike took the card from her to see if there was anything on the back they missed. Santana started going through words that rhyme with clock.

"Block, cock, dock. Dock! It's by the dock!"

They took off as fast as they could, filled with new adrenalin.

"Do you think we have to swim?" Mike panted.

"Don't even say that."

When they reached the dock they found Miss. Pillsbury waiting at the end. They raced over and she gave them their last envelope.

"That's the last letter! Run!"

Santana had never run so hard in her life. Not even during a Cheerio's practice.

They tore up the steps and down the path, and then burst through the dining hall doors and ran into the rec room. At the same time, Rachel and Sam came running in the other doors.

They threw the letters down on the table Artie was sitting at and stared at the jumbled letters.

**N I F E S R O B**

Santana couldn't figure out the word. She wished they had looked at the letters as they ran, so they could have tried to figure it out ahead of time.

Artie was still switching the letters around when they heard Sugar yell.

"Bonfires!"

Mr. Schuester clapped his hands and cheered. "We have a winner! Congratulations, Sugar, Sam and Rachel!"

Santana looked down at their letters as Artie pushed them into place.

"Bonfires." Mike mumbled.

Santana pulled Mike over to a couch and they both collapsed on it.

"That was so close! Congratulations on finishing guys!" Mr. Schue said as he and the other team came over to their couch and table.

Rachel flopped down next to Santana on the couch.

"Come to gloat, Berry?"

"Only a little. I'm too tired to gloat too much. Maybe later." Rachel rested her head on Santana's shoulder. "You smell, San."

"Gee thanks." Santana went to sit up but Rachel put her hand on Santana's arm.

"No, stay."

Santana laughed. "I've got to untie myself from Mike. Unless you want a guest in our room tonight."

Rachel sat up quickly and Santana turned to Mike. He was already working on untying them. Santana gave him a hand.

"You were awesome today, Santana. I'm glad we were partners."

"Yeah, me too. But I hope to never be tied to you ever again."

Mike laughed. "Never again." He turned to Artie. "And we couldn't have done it without our brains."

"I'm sorry I lost it for you."

Santana surprised herself by speaking up. "No way. You didn't lose it. Team effort."

Now that she was free from Mike, she sank back down in the couch beside Rachel. She was finally warm and so comfy she just wanted to curl up on the couch and fall asleep. Rachel put her head on her shoulder again, and Santana leaned in.

Mike had moved to another couch with Sam, Sugar and Artie.

Blaine, Mercedes and Rory were all still sitting at their own table with the letters they had out in front of them.

Santana had just closed her eyes and rested her head on Rachel's when Quinn and Kurt came bursting in. They both looked exhausted and groaned when they saw the two teams already there.

Rory put their letters together quickly, since they all knew the mystery word now, and Schuester congratulated them on coming in third.

Quinn, after untying herself from Kurt, came over and joined them on the couch. Kurt went off and sat with Blaine.

"Get away from here! You're freezing!" Santana mumbled.

"Too bad! You're warm."

Soon after, Finn and Brittany arrived looking disappointed and frustrated.

Not five minutes after them came Tina and Puck. Miss. Pillsbury and Jade followed them in.

They had a quick speech about the tasks they did, which Santana didn't listen to. She was far too comfy to care about much. She had Rachel curled up beside her, and she was pretty sure Quinn had fallen asleep beside her as well. After the speech they were sent to go shower and clean up before dinner.

Santana nudged Quinn awake and everyone said goodbye and headed back to their cabins.

Since all the girls wanted to shower before dinner, but there were only four shower stalls, they decided the girls who came in first, second, third and fourth would get showers first.

They all departed for their cabins to get their clothes and toiletries. Santana had asked Rachel to carry her, but the smaller girl refused and told her that she should be the one being carried since she won. She dropped that argument however when Santana offered to throw her over her shoulder. The walk back to the washroom was even slower than the walk to the cabins.

The washroom building was a large building with doors on both sides. One side was for the guys, the other for the girls. Inside there were four shower stalls, four sinks and four toilet stalls.

Quinn joined the three of them on their way to the washroom.

Once they reached the washroom, Quinn pulled Santana aside before she went in. Rachel and Sugar had already gone in ahead of them.

"So Mercedes asked me what's going on between you and Rachel." Quinn said in a hushed voice.

"What does that mean?" Santana snapped at Quinn.

"That's what I asked her. She said she doesn't get why you two are friends now, and thinks you're up to something. Look, I told her you weren't, but -"

"You think I'm up to something too?" Santana cut Quinn off.

"No, Santana. I don't."

"Good. I'm not up to anything. We're actually friends now, no matter how crazy that sounds. You should know better than anyone, she gets under your skin."

Quinn laughed. "Yeah, she does, doesn't she? But what are you going to do about Mercedes? She's not going to stop until she finds out what's up."

"I have no idea. Push her in the lake maybe." Santana opened the washroom door and held it open for Quinn.

"That's not nice." Quinn walked into the washroom.

"I'm not a nice person." Santana followed Quinn in. Rachel and Sugar were already in the shower.

"Yes you are."

* * *

><p>Even though everyone was sat at one big table together, dinner was quiet. Everyone was so tired. Even the ones who hadn't been runners we exhausted.<p>

They had decided to pull two tables together so the group wasn't split up tonight. Santana was sitting between Mike and Quinn.

Eventually, after some food, everyone started talking. They were all talking about the challenge today.

Apparently Blaine had been reading the map upside down and sent Puck and Tina off into the middle of the forest. Sam told everyone how it took him and Rachel 12 tries to do the rope challenge. Finn and Brittany hadn't been able to figure out the face riddle. Quinn and Kurt told everyone about how they couldn't reach the envelope on the wall and how Quinn had to hit it down with a broom. And everyone laughed when Santana told how long it took to find the envelope outside her own cabin.

After more horror stories from the day's activities, and after dinner was finished, Jade announced that as a reward for everyone completing the challenge, there was going to be a bonfire. She sent them all back to their cabins to change into warmer clothes, or clothes they wouldn't mind smelling like fire. She told them all to meet them in the field beside the dining hall in a half hour.

Once Santana and Rachel had changed into warmer clothes, they waited outside the cabin for Sugar.

"So where did you and Quinn disappear to earlier?" Rachel asked her.

"Hm?"

"Before the showers. You two were right behind us before we went in."

"Oh, that." Santana debated on whether or not to tell Rachel about Mercedes. But she knew if she didn't, she ran the risk of Rachel hearing from someone else that Santana was planning something. Even though it was the farthest thing from the truth. "Quinn pulled me aside to tell me that Mercedes is trying to find gossip where there isn't any. At lunch I told Mercedes you and I were friends, which doesn't make sense to her, so she's decided I'm plotting something." Santana stopped her angry ramble and looked at Rachel.

"She's right though."

"What? Come on, Rachel. You can't possibly think I'd spend all this time with you, spend Christmas with you, just to play some prank on you."

"No, Santana, of course I don't. I only meant that us being… friends doesn't make sense. Not from her perspective anyway. You're not the same person you were a month ago, Santana. You've let me see that, and Quinn, but you haven't shown anyone else. Until you do, people are just going to assume you're the old Santana. Not this new Santana I like so much."

Santana wasn't sure what to say to that so she just pulled the other girl into a hug. "Thank you. For trusting me." She whispered into Rachel's hair.

They broke apart when the front door of their cabin banged shut and Sugar came out. She looked far too dressed up for a bonfire.

"Why are you two hugging? What'd I miss?"

"Nothing, Santana was cold. Let's get to that fire!"

Sugar skipped forward and linked arms with Rachel, pulling her down the path. Rachel tried to grab Santana's arm but Santana told them to go on ahead.

Santana walked behind them thinking about what Rachel had said. She knew she had changed, but she wasn't sure she wanted to let everyone see the "new" her. That thought still scared her. She didn't think they'd like the new her any more than the old her anyway. But Rachel liked the new her. And Santana liked herself around Rachel. Maybe opening herself up to other people wasn't such a bad idea. It still scared the crap out of her though.

Before she knew it, they had arrived at the fire. It was huge and there were a bunch of logs to sit on around it. It was also very warm, which Santana was thankful for.

Jade and the teachers were already there. Along with Puck, Mike, Tina, Sam and Artie.

Puck and Sam had their guitars, while Mr. Schuester had a ukulele. They were already singing loudly. Mike and Tina smiled at the girls from across the fire.

"Come join us over here! The smoke's not blowing this way!"

"Mike! Now you've jinxed it!" Tina said nudging him in the stomach making him choke on what appeared to be marshmallows.

Santana sat down on the log beside Mike with Rachel sitting down next to her. Mike grabbed the bag of marshmallows from Tina and passed them to Santana.

"We don't have sticks yet. Logan went to go look for some." Mike told her with a mouth full of marshmallows.

Puck stopped singing and turned to the girls.

"You guys totally missed it! I fit ten marshmallows in my mouth. No one's going to beat that."

"Wanna bet, Puckerman?" Sugar grabbed the bag from Santana and proceeded to fill her mouth.

Puck just laughed and went back to singing. Santana heard Rachel humming along beside her.

"You know this song?" Santana asked her.

"Of course. While I do consider myself to have an extensive musical catalog on my computer, I believe everyone knows this song."

"Well then." Santana started singing along with the others.

"Well maybe  
>you're gonna be the one that saves me<br>cause after all  
>you're my wonderwall"<p>

By the time the song was over, it looked like everyone had joined them. The other girls were on the log beside them. And it looked like all the boys were there as well.

Logan had just arrived with sticks and everyone was making smores. Rory quickly got banned from making smores after he waved his flaming marshmallows around in a panic. Puck was teaching Sugar how to make a smore, since she had never had one.

"You're doing it wrong, Puck. You're not supposed to stick it in the fire! You put it near the embers at the bottom and turn the marshmallow so it browns, not burns. Also if you put the chocolate and graham crackers on a rock beside the fire, the chocolate will melt and become awesome." Santana told Puck.

"Well if you're such a pro, you do it." Puck handed the stick over to Santana and picked up his guitar.

Santana got up and made a smore for Sugar. When she was done, she sat back down next to Rachel, who was still singing away to whatever Puck and Sam were playing.

"Want me to make you one? There's no meat in a smore."

Rachel laughed, leaning into Santana. "No thank you. Smores aren't vegan."

"What? How come? The chocolate?"

"Everything in them. The marshmallows have gelatin, chocolate has milk, and the crackers have honey."

"Oh, that sucks. Want me to go steal some carrots from the kitchen? I could make you some nice toasted carrots!"

"Thank you for the offer, but no thank you, San."

They spent the rest of the night singing and eating. It felt like a real glee club again to Santana. It reminded her of when they sang Ride Wit Me all those years ago.

Once the fire started to die down and everyone was tired and sore from the logs and all the marshmallows were gone, they decided to call it a night.

Schuester told them that it was 11:30, and they all had until midnight, then it was lights out. He assured them people would be around to check. He also informed them that someone would be around in the morning to wake them up.

The girls said goodnight to the guys and walked sleepily back to their cabins to get their toothbrushes and things to get ready for bed. Santana, Sugar and Rachel had a hard time finding their cabin in the dark, since none of them had thought to turn on their porch light. Eventually, once their eyes had adjusted, Sugar found their hill.

They grabbed their things, turned on the light, and head off to the washroom. The other four were already there using the sinks, so they had to wait. Santana saw Mercedes watching her and Rachel in the mirror. The other girls finished up, said goodnight and left.

After they were all done getting ready, they hurried back to their cabin, thankful for the light leading the way. Soon enough they were back in their rooms. Santana and Rachel got changed, and jumped into their sleeping bags.

Santana had just gotten settled when there was a knock on the door. Sugar came in and turned on the light.

"My room is freezing, you said you'd turn up my radiator?"

"Right. I'll be right in." Santana dragged herself out of bed and showed Sugar how to adjust the radiator.

"Thank you, Santana! Goodnight!"

"Night, Sugar. Enjoy your large bed."

Santana walked back into her room and quietly closed the door, incase Rachel was sleeping. She turned off the light and walked over to her bed.

"I turned our heat up too, let me know if you're cold." Rachel's voice made Santana jump. She climbed back into her sleeping bag and tried to warm her freezing feet.

"Alright, thanks. Goodnight, Rach."

"Goodnight, Santana."

Santana tried to get warm, but she just couldn't. Eventually, her teeth started to chatter.

"Are you alright, Santana?"

"Y-yeah. I'm f-fine. Go back to bed-d."

"I can't sleep with all that noise. Switch beds with me, it's warm over here."

"No. Then you'll be cold." She replied through clenched teeth.

"Then we'll do what Sugar did. Here, we'll move your bed over and make a big one. Is that alright with you?" Suddenly Rachel was right beside her bed.

"Yeah, okay." Santana got up, and together they carried her bed over beside Rachel's.

Rachel picked up Santana's sleeping bag which had fallen.

"My goodness, Santana! This is not nearly insulated enough! You take this." Rachel handed her a blanket. "Hold on a moment while I fix this."

Rachel took all the pillows and her sleeping bag off the bed and unzipped Santana's, then spread it over the bed, fleece side up. She then did the same to her sleeping bag, but put the fleece side down. She put the pillows back on the bed and folded over the sleeping bag.

"Climb in, you'll be closest to the heat."

Santana stayed where she was.

"You're s-sure you're okay-y with this?"

"Of course, get in, San!"

Santana climbed in and shimmied over close to the heater. It was a lot warmer. She felt Rachel climb in behind her and felt her cold feet touch her leg.

Santana unwrapped herself from the blanket and rolled over to share it with Rachel.

"Thank you."

"Any time, Santana."

* * *

><p>Wow this was a long one. Sorry it took so long to update! I hope you liked it though! Also, I'll leave it up to you, in the next chapter, would you like the girls to wake up with Santana as the little spoon or the big spoon? Or some other fun position! Let me know in the comments!<p> 


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